I Know
by SammmmanthaJ
Summary: Jommy! Fluffy 3 parter song-fic type thing.  Completely plotless and pointless.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**_Hi everyone! I'm back! I've been working on my incomplete story _Unready, Willing, & Able _because one of my New Years resolutions is to stop sucking and actually finish the stuff I start. (Actually, the resolution is 'get my shit together,' but it sounds better when I mention finishing stuff.) Anyways, I realized recently that I had never posted this short story here (I posted it over on DLS a few years ago) so I edited it and thought that it would be a nice prelude to me making an actual update to UW&A. It's real short - only 3 parts, and I'll post them all this week. Anyways, it is short, fluffy, and Jommy. You're welcome ;)_

_Happy New Years!_

_The song is Saving Ferris - I Know. Made popular by the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack :)_

* * *

><p><strong>I Know<strong>

They walked into the darkened lobby of G Major still laughing, broad smiles gracing their faces. Jude twirled around and Tommy couldn't help but to feel his smile grow – her sense of fun was contagious. They had used Tommy's personal key to enter G Major, as it was approaching 4 a.m. and Jude had left some books at the recording studio earlier.

"Why didn't you take me there before? That was amazing! It had so much energy!" Words tumbled out of Jude's mouth in between bouts of humming and scatting.

"Didn't think you were ready," Tommy smirked, teasing her.

"Oh yeah?" She asked as she approached him.

"Yeah." He said as he leaned down and planted a brief kiss on her lips. She pulled back and grinned happily at him.

"I'm so wired now! What was that called again?"

"Ska music. It's a mixture of jazz and calypso and R&B. I'm glad you liked it." He watched amusedly as Jude sat down on the floor in front of him, pulling out her journal and a pen, starting to scribble.

"Let me guess…"

"Yup!" Jude said happily, not looking up from her notes. "I just wish I could write trumpet music…this is going to be so fun!" She murmured softly, smiling to herself.

"You know, there are other places here to sit. Like the reception area, hospitality, even, oh, I don't know…a recording studio?" He couldn't take his eyes off the girl in front of him, but he himself was not about to plant his butt down on the floor of G Major, no matter how good the cleaning crew claimed to be.

"Ooookay," Jude drew out as she hastily finished a line, and lifted a hand up for Tommy to help her stand. Tommy took her hand and pulled roughly, causing Jude to fly up and into his arms.

"Mmm, nice." Jude mumbled as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"You know, we could do this all the time in G Major and not just when the lights are off…"

"Tommy, you _know_ how I feel about that." He sighed and nodded, pressing a chaste kiss against her temple. He was well aware of Jude's feelings on the subject of them becoming a public couple. It's funny, Tommy had always told himself that if he and Jude ever got together, he would have to tape her mouth shut to keep it from getting out. Now that it's happened, he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, yet Jude was the one worried about the backlash. It was sweet, and Tommy knew that. She wasn't too concerned about herself or her own reputation, but rather she was worried about Tommy and his career. He had just been assigned to produce two new up and coming stars, and Jude didn't want people to not take him seriously if they knew he was dating one of his artists. She knew that he really wanted to produce the albums, and she wanted people to focus on that, not his personal life. So, she decided to keep everything quiet and very private. Only Sadie and Kwest were aware of their relationship, and as hard as it was, Jude and Tommy were able to maintain their semi-professional relationship in front of others.

They never really went _out_ in public, so Jude was incredibly grateful for their night out at a concert. She was hesitant at first, but Tommy assured them that they could act as professional as Jude was comfortable with, even though he didn't think it'd be necessary. And it wasn't. The concert was at an underground venue, very low key, and for the first time in a long time – no one recognized Jude. No one cared. Jude never thought she'd be so happy to be ignored. So she and Tommy spent the entire night dancing and kissing, laughing and joking, and being a typical couple.

But the concert had to come to an end, and at the end of the night they were back to being Jude and Tommy, the secret couple, stealing kisses and moments and a darkened record label building. He rested his head against hers and inhaled her scent, cherishing the moment as usual.

"Come on," Jude said suddenly, pulling back and grinning once more, the energy returning to her body. "I have a great idea!" And with that, she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a recording studio, neither one of them noticing the darkened man in the corner with a gleam in his eye.

* * *

><p>Once in the studio, Jude finished writing her song, played most of it on the keyboard, and stretched out along the couch, her thighs resting atop Tommy's as she sat up next to him and corrected the last line with a flourish.<p>

"Done!"

"And you're sure?" Tommy asked slightly skeptically. After all, she had just written what she claimed to be a 'hit' in 20 minutes. At 4 in the morning.

"Mmmhmm. Want to be my guinea pig?" She asked softly as she placed a kiss on his pulse point on his neck. His back arched slightly and he could barely contain the moan that threatened to escape.

"Sure," he gasped out as she continued her ministrations. "Sing it for me."

"Uh-uh. It's a duet. Sing it with me." She said against his neck.

"Jude," he tried to protest, but her lips were trailing up and down the column of his throat.

"I have the keyboard set to brass. I have the lyrics right here. Just please, follow my lead?"

"Mmm…" Tommy hesitated.

"I'm not asking you to sing it with me in public. Just right here, right now. Please? I…I wrote it about us." She tried as a last ditch attempt at getting him to sing with her. It was true, of course, but she knew how much it pleased Tommy to have verbal confirmation that she wrote songs about him.

"Okay," he said tiredly. He was exhausted, but wasn't going to let that tear him away from alone time with Jude, and if she really wanted him to sing a rougher than rough cut demo with her, who was he to deny her?

"Yay!" She said as she bounced up and moved towards the control. They weren't going to record it, so she didn't plan to move it into the soundproof recording studio, but she turned towards the open door.

"Should we…?" She motioned to the open door leading towards the lobby. Tommy shook his head.

"Nah. We're the only ones here, who cares if we're loud?" Jude just shrugged at his logic and started fiddling with knobs, her blonde hair flowing everywhere. Tommy was entranced.

"Here," Jude tossed him her journal without turning to look at him, still struggling with the knobs. "Read the lyrics and listen to the music, tell me what you think, and then we'll try it."

Tommy did as he was told as he listened to the upbeat trumpets coming out of the speakers. It wasn't a full band sound at all, but he had to admit that it was fun and happy, and if they got a six or seven piece brass ensemble in the studio… the possibilities were endless. So he listened and read, putting the lyrics to the music in his head, aided every now and then by Jude, humming along to the wordless song, making sure it fit.

As the song ended, Jude turned to Tommy, her smile threatening to split her face.

"What do you think?" She asked eagerly.

"I think…that we are both exhausted and that it's almost 5 a.m." Jude's face fell. "But, I also think that no matter what time it is, this song is really good. It's different for you, but I like it." Jude crawled into his lap and gave him a smoldering kiss.

"Thank you," she whispered against his lips before she pulled away. "So, you ready?"

"Are you?" He countered.

"I think so. I mean, I've never done a lot of this with my voice before, so I hope it sounds okay." Tommy raised his eyebrow skeptically. Since when did Jude ever sound anything less than amazing? The song was pretty trying, as far as the vocals were considered, but he was wholly confident she could pull it off. It was totally ska, and the lyrics were brilliantly fun and sexy, and not surprisingly, they related well to their situation.

They sang and recorded bits and pieces for the better part of two hours. They had indulged themselves in countless pots of coffee and had seriously depleted Tommy's secret stash of Twizzlers, and were now pleasantly sugar buzzed and exhaustion was only flirting with their bodies instead of forcing itself upon them.  
>Finally, Tommy looked up from the soundboard.<p>

"I think we have a winner!" He said with a broad smile, finally satisfied with the way the song came out. It was still very rough, but it was an actual finished product, which was better than he had expected.

"Let's hear it!" She said as she offered a hand to Tommy to get him to stand up. He took it, yet got up without exerting any strain on her. He pressed a few buttons, and music filtered out of the speakers, and Jude started swaying her hips in time with the music, which quickly turned into full on dancing.

"_My mama said to stay away from guys like you_," she sang along with happily with her own voice, pointing playfully at Tommy. "_She said they were nasty, made me do things I don't want to do. Stay away from bad boys they've got one thing on their mind_," she moved her body down Tommy's sensually, causing him to grasp her hips and pull her tightly to him. She gyrated slowly and continued to sing. "T_heir hormones are raging and they want it all the time!_"

She pulled away and danced onto the couch, clearly having a great time with Tommy just watching amusedly and a little uncomfortably, as he not-so-subtly adjusted himself.

"_And I know, know, 'cause she said so, and I can't just let you go. And I know, know, 'cause you said so, and I can't just let you go_!"

As the next verse began, Tommy offered Jude a hand and spun her off the couch, dancing with her as he sang along with his own voice. "_Well, I love you very much, you're nice to see and nice to touch_," Jude laughed as he spun her around the recording studio and into the hallway, where the music was still just as loud. She snuck a kiss in before singing the next line with him.

"_**But I would never, ever, ever treat you wrong, been waiting for you all along**_," Tommy dipped her low and smiled lovingly down on her.

"_**And I know, know, 'cause she said so, but I can't just let you go. And I know, know, 'cause you said so, but I can't just let you go**_." They sang together as they moved around the room, until the music slowed and Jude pulled out of Tommy's arms and stood in front of him, swaying to the music as her voice deepened and got more soul.

"_I said I want you to know, I said I want you to know right now. Whoa, I want you to know, I want you to know_." Her incredible voice dipped and gathered strength as the song continued, and she really did look like she was having a great time. It was all Tommy could do to watch her in her element. The music quickened back to its original pace, and Tommy and Jude danced together to the sound of the mechanical brass instruments manipulated by the soundboard.

"_**And I know, know, 'cause you said so, but I can't just let you go. And I know, know, 'cause you said so, and I can't just let you go.**_"

Tommy suddenly pulled Jude to him, tightly wrapping his arms around her and kissed her passionately. They angled their heads, deepening their kissing as their own voices floated around them. As the song came to an end, they pulled apart, breathing heavily and resting their foreheads against one another.

"I'll never let you go," Tommy whispered to her as Jude's melodic, powerful voice ended the song brilliantly. She leaned forward and met his lips once more, only to pull back after a few seconds.

"I'm so not doing anything today." He laughed and pulled her back into the recording studio, pulling her down onto the couch as he held her from behind, completely exhausted. Neither one spared a second thought about the fast approaching 8 o' clock in the morning as they drifted off.

As for the man lurking in the corners of G-Major, he slipped off into the early morning soon after Jude and Tommy's little performance had ended. If he was lucky, time would be on his side.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?" Kwest's harshly whispered words were the first things that filtered through to Jude and Tommy's conscious. "Get up, get up!" He said as he pulled a bleary Jude off the couch and sat her in the adjacent chair.<p>

Not five seconds later, Darius stepped in the doorway. His coat was still on and briefcase in hand, and his typical stern look was plastered on his face as usual. Kwest stepped in front of Jude, who had rested her head on her elbow and was a few seconds away from drifting off again. His peripheral vision told him that Tommy had not moved at all.

"Problem, D?" Kwest asked with a nervous grin.

"No. Good to see you're all here and ready to work." He shot a look at Tommy's sleeping form. "You are ready to work, aren't you Kwest?"

Kwest bit back a sigh – after all, why was he about to get bitched at for Tommy sleeping on the job? – but instead just forced a smile on his face and nodded vehemently. "Yes. T just said he needed to…think. About lyrics. He's thinking right now."

Darius cocked his eyebrow but said nothing, observing the situation momentarily.

"Get back to work." He said as he turned on his heel and left, leaving Kwest to exhale in relief.

He gathered his wits and then turned to the two culprits, both dozing off.

"Wake up!" He said rather loudly as he punched Tommy in the arm, not kindly at all. He nudged Jude's elbow off the table, jarring her awake as well.

Tommy rubbed his face tiredly as he sat up.

"What time is it?" He moaned.

"Almost nine, that's what time!" Kwest said, exasperated. "Did you two want to get caught?"

"We spent the niii-iiiiiiiiight," Jude started to speak before getting cut off by her own yawn.

"Whoa, don't need the details." Kwest said hurriedly.

"We spent the night _here_," Tommy spoke up, gradually becoming more aware. "We recorded a song."

"Thought you two were going to a concert."

"This was after," Jude spoke up.

"What time did you end up going to bed?" Kwest asked incredulously.

"I'm not sure…sevenish? I guess?" Jude said as she stood up and stretched. Kwest rolled his eyes as Tommy became entranced with the expanse of smooth, pale stomach exposed as her shirt rode up.

"I'll go get you guys some coffee." He said tiredly. He could tell it'd be a long day.

Jude moved to stand in front of the couch and Tommy. He opened his legs to allow her to step between them and look down on him. She ran her hands through his hair, mussing with the untidy strands. She was officially the only person in the world that was allowed to do that. Tommy just let his head rest in her hands and enjoyed the feel of her fingers on his scalp as he wrapped his hands around her thighs.

"It's going to be a long day," Jude said softly.

"Maybe once D hears the new song he'll let us go early." Tommy said hopefully.

"Maybe…"

"WHAT IS GOING ON? QUINCY, HARRISON – GET YOUR ASSES OUT HERE RIGHT NOW." Darius's booming voice interrupted them. They exchanged shocked looks and scrambled to get to the lobby.

They got to the lobby in record breaking time, only to see a furious Darius standing in front of them. Out of second nature, Jude grasped Tommy's forearm in fright. She followed D's eyes towards her hand and released him quickly.

"Hunh." Darius rolled his eyes but did not acknowledge the act any more so.

"What's up, D?" Tommy asked confidently yet cautiously. The lobby was silent, with interns and professionals alike lining the sides, completely stationary, waiting for the next move to be made.

"I suppose you'll be just as curious as I am as to why my homepage, when I logged on this morning, declared 'Tom Quincy & Jude Harrison' as the most searched item today on all search engines, right?"

Tommy and Jude's draws dropped open as they both tried desperately to think of something to say.

"Dari-" Tommy began, but was cut off.

"IT'S ONLY 9 A.M., T. SO, here I am, trying to figure out, how did my star's producer and my _star herself_ get to be number one in 9 hours, when they weren't even in the top 5 yesterday."

Later on, Jude would sit and ponder just how absurd it was that Darius kept track of the most searched items on the internet. But, at the moment, she was too busy trying to cover for Tommy and herself.

"We went to a concert, Darius! Just one concert! In fact, I made Tommy go. Forced him. I told him I'd go by myself if he wouldn't go with me and you know how he is, it'd be totally dangerous of me to go by myself, so-"

Tommy cut her off with a hand over the mouth. He was quite positive she wasn't going to stop anytime soon, and yet the look on D's face hadn't changed since she began: he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Concert? T, what is she talking about?" Tommy opened his mouth to speak. "No! You know what, I don't even want to know. What I _want_ to know is why the video with the most hits on the web is of you two, making out IN. MY. STUDIO."

Tommy's hand fell away from Jude's mouth as the two of them stood shell-shocked in front of Darius.

"_What_?" Jude whispered. Suddenly, the once-quiet building was now lively with whispers and shuffling feet, people trying to get a better view of the sure-to-happen blowout in the lobby.

"Christ," Darius muttered, running a hand over his head. "It was this morning. You were in those clothes."

"D, I…" Tommy fell short of any words to say that could possibly appease his boss. He closed his mouth, and allowed his hand to find Jude's, lying limply by her side.

"What song was that?" Darius asked quietly, in a controlled voice.

"I'm sorry?" Tommy asked, confused.

"The song. You two were singing a song. What was it?"

"I wrote it last night." Jude said quietly, not looking down, her eyes fixated on her and Tommy's clasped fingers.

"I'm going to get a six piece brass ensemble in here by midday. You guys should get some sleep before we start recording." Darius turned to walk away, leaving a dumbstruck Jude and Tommy.

"You're not going to fire us?" Jude spoke up hesitantly. Darius stopped walking, took a deep breath and turned around.

"Don't get me wrong, Superstar." His voice was a little louder than normal, but not unkind. "I am _pissed_. You two have been lying to me for how long? T _deliberately_ disobeyed me when I told him you were out of bounds, and yet here you two are. Together. This is just another thing to add to the T fucking up list."

Jude bit her lip and looked at Tommy, terrified that she was getting him in trouble.

"D, this isn't Tommy's fault. It was me, I-"

"Jude," Tommy tried to interrupt, but she shook him off.

"Seriously, D. Don't blame him for this. Blame me."

"_Jude_!" Tommy tried again, awed that she was putting herself at risk for him.

"You realize what you just said, Jude?" Darius asked, his eyes boring into hers. She just nodded mutely. Darius was silent for a few moments then sighed, cupping Jude's face in his hand.

"Never thought T would get a girl like you." He said softly. "I'm mad, Superstar, but I'm also a businessman. And I can think of worse things to happen to my label than having two of its employees being Googled. The G Major website has been temporarily shut down due to the influx of web traffic due to this video. So yeah, while I'm pretty mad at the situation, and mostly the fact that I was left out of the loop, I'm going to milk this for what it's worth." He rubbed his hands together, and Jude was sure that he was going to laugh maniacally.

"Publicity!" He said gleefully, as he turned on his heel and walked away.

* * *

><p>He left Jude and Tommy standing in the middle of G Major, looking like they had just seen flying pigs. Before they had a chance to say anything to each other, someone had turned on the TV in the lobby and all attention was drawn to it.<p>

"And in recent Entertainment News," the reporter began, "It looks like those rumors about Instant Star winner Jude Harrison and her producer, and ex-Boyz Attack! Member Thomas Quincy are true! A video has been leaked of the two recording a song together while sharing many intimate moments. An insider says that the two were acting very much in love, and that 'Little Tommy Q' looked to be loosening up and having a good time."

"I can have a good time!" Tommy shot back at the TV, taken aback. Jude shot him an amused look and turned her attention back towards the TV.

"Well, we have some of the footage for you right now, and you can see for yourself if the moody Tommy Quincy and the lovely Jude Harrison are the real deal, or if they're just 'Wasting Their Time?'"

Then, the video appeared. It was shot surprisingly well for being very dark, and what was most disconcerting to Jude was the fact that the angles were close. Very close.

"How did he get that close, Tommy? I can't believe someone else was here!" Jude exclaimed, a little frightened.

"Just a paparazzo, Girl." He said soothingly as he slipped an arm around her and pulled her close, continuing to watch themselves on screen.

The video footage was short, starting towards the end, but it did manage to capture all the most intimate moments – the kissing, the dancing, and the whispered promise at the end.

The spectators around the lobby of G Major clapped as it ended, causing Jude to turn a fiery red and to start to pull Tommy out of the room, just as the reporter came back to the screen.

"I'll leave it to the viewers to decide what to make of it. Is notorious bad boy Tommy Quincy off the market? It sure looks like it. Can't say I didn't see that coming, Jack."

"I think all of Canada saw that coming, Annette." The other reporter answered, a smirk on his face. "And in other Entertainment news, the Juno Awards are set to occur…"

The rest of the report was drowned out by the rushing of blood in Jude's ears as she pulled Tommy back into Studio A. She pushed him down to the couch and began to pace in front of him.

"I am so sorry, Tommy." She said finally, after practically wearing a hole in the rug. Tommy was prepared for a lot of things, but an apology was not what he was expecting.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." He got up and put his hands on her shoulders to stop the pacing. "Slow down, Girl. Take a deep breath." He waited for her to do so. "And sit down." He pulled her to the couch, sitting down next to him, and turned slightly towards her.

"Now what on Earth are you apologizing for?"

"Tommy! I didn't want this – us – to be public for a reason! I want people to focus on your amazing producing abilities, not your relationship with me. My album is doing fine right now, Darius is more than pleased with it, I'm working on stuff for a new album, I can afford to just be in the background! I can afford people not taking me seriously now, but what if you can't?" She panted slightly afterwards, strained from trying to say all she wanted in two breaths.

"Girl." He said softly, a smile in his voice. "It's okay."

"How can you say it's-" He pressed a finger to her lips to silence her.

"It'll be okay. As much as it pains me to say it, apparently my love life is always going to be influencing my career. It's just how it goes for me."

"But-"

"I'm not saying I'm still going to be in the tabloids all the time, but I am saying that this is me. And you're you. We're public figures, Jude. We have the limelight whether we want it or not. And yes, sometimes it's uncomfortable. But if I have learned anything – _anything_ – from spending the last 3 years with you, it is that I want to be where you are. Limelight, candlelight, shadows, pure darkness – it doesn't matter where I am. Wherever you are, I'll be."

Jude just sat in silence. She knew Tommy cared for her, that much was obvious. But despite everything, Tommy was still Tommy, and he was never much for large declarations or vocalizing his feelings. They had been dating for almost 6 months, and she was waiting, somewhat patiently, to hear the three magic words. (And no, singing them in a song did not count. At all.)

So maybe they weren't the three big words. But at that moment, it didn't matter at all to Jude, because what he said was so much more.

"Thank you," she whispered as she rested her forehead against his. "Thank you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Part dos! The third part will be up on Saturday, I think. I've been working hard on UW&A, so if you haven't already - go catch up! It's kind of long ;)

**Anyways - enjoy!  
><strong>

**I Know, Part 2**

"Alex." Jude called out into crowd.

"How long have you two been together?" Jude heaved a sigh and looked down. She felt like she'd answered the same questions a million times over. It was three days after the release of the video of her and Tommy, and the two were at a press conference in front of G-Major, orchestrated by Darius, of course.

"Six months." Tommy replied for her as he reached underneath the table they sat at, along with the other head figures of the label, and entwined their fingers.

"Do you two plan on recording a duet together?" Alex, one of the more friendlier faces in the crows, continued.

"Not besides the one in the video," Tommy said in a terse voice. "And even that's not set in stone."

"He's kidding, of course." Darius spoke up from the other side of Jude. "The song heard in the video is rock solid, featuring Tommy and Jude."

Tommy bit his tongue to keep from making another remark. He was convinced that recording the song was Darius's own special brand of torture, punishment for getting involved with Jude. _The things I do for her,_Tommy repeated in his head for the millionth time. Of course, right after thinking that, he always thought of the hundreds – no, thousands – of things Jude did for him and he allowed a small smile to grace his lips. She was worth it; there was no doubt about that.

"Are you two in love?" A reporter called out from the back of the crowd.

"We're in a serious and committed relationship," Jude said convincingly enough.

"Yes, but are you in love?" She persisted. Jude had been successful in avoiding the question for the preceding hour, but she was tired and grumpy and she didn't want to deal with it anymore. She chose that precise moment to dig her heel into Darius's foot.

"Aaah! I think this press conference is just about finished." He said, standing up and shooting Jude a venomous look. "Thank you all for coming out."

Jude and Tommy shot the crowd big smiles as they got up and made their way back into the lobby. Once congregated, Darius turned to Jude.

"My _foot_, Jude?" He shook his head and made his way back into his office. Jude just shrugged and turned to Tommy.

"I got to go get some work done with SME, but how about I grab us some lunch afterwards and we eat in my office?" Tommy asked, smiling down on her.

"Sounds great," Jude replied, unable to keep the smile off her face either. She couldn't help it – it was contagious when it came from Tommy.

"Good." He said and leaned down to give her a sweet, tender kiss, their lips clinging together lightly.

Once he was out of sight, Jude let out a loud sigh and made her way to the receptionist desk where Sadie was watching her, an eyebrow cocked.

She flopped down next to her, resting her head in her hand.

"Didn't know how to answer the love question, huh?" Sadie asked knowingly.

"Weren't you in here? How did you know?"

"The wonders of technology," Sadie said with a smile, motioning towards her computer, where a streaming video was replaying the press conference again.

"Ugh," Jude moaned and dropped her head to the table, banging it twice. She looked up to see Sadie looking at her as if she were crazy.

"Riiight."

"I know he loves me. I do. It's just…those stupid words! Why can't he say them? Makes me wonder if he really _does_ love me, and I **hate** questioning things." Jude lamented.

"He's a guy. And guys do dumb things. Why don't you just tell him and trust that he'll say them back?"

"_Because_, Sadie. While I trust Tommy implicitly, I do not trust myself not to scare him off."

"I'm not going to pretend that I understand this. Jude, you slept with him when, like a month after you got together?"

"That's different!" Jude cried out, causing the stares of several people to be directed at her.

"Oh yeah, how? You told me you were waiting 'til you were sure you loved him."

"And I was! I know how I feel, and I'm like, 99% sure I know how Tommy feels. It's just…different."

"Whatever you say, little sister." They sat in silence for a few minutes until Jude spoke again.

"I almost blew it the other day." Her voice was slightly hesitant, as if she was unsure if this was a real story to tell and how Sadie would react to it.

"With Tommy?" She asked, outraged, upset at the thought of them almost breaking up and her not knowing anything about it.

"No, not _with_Tommy. But I almost let him hear me say the words. He was in our kitchen."

"Oh. And you were…?"

"Having that fun talk with Dad, in the living room." Sadie had to let out a laugh at that. How she would've loved to be a fly on the wall for _that_conversation. But, it was Jude's own fault for letting the tabloids tell her father about her relationship with Tommy versus herself.

"So what happened?"

"I was showing Dad the picture – you know, the one of me sitting in Tommy's lap in the studio?" Sadie nodded. Jude had about ten copies of the damn picture, hidden away in every place possible. "Well, I took it out to show him how happy I was, and I just got…lost. In the picture, I mean. And I was remembering that day and how much fun it was, and I just wasn't thinking."

"_And_?" Sadie asked impatiently.

"And Dad asked me if I loved him and I said yes. That I was in love with him."

Sadie's eyebrows reached new height with that confession. After all, the kitchen was only about 10 feet away from the living room, no door to separate the two…it was a realistic worry to have that Tommy could've overheard.

"Did he hear you?"

"I…I don't know! He didn't say anything afterwards, if that's what you're asking." Jude sighed yet again. "It was all I could think about out there in that press conference. Me slipping up and just saying 'yep, we're in love,' right in front of him, with him having no warning at all."

"Oh come on, drama queen. I think being in a relationship is fair warning that eventually _someone's_going to fall in love."

"You know what I mean, Sades!"

Sadie just scoffed at her little sister. She knew how scary it was to admit to someone that you're in love with them, but in the end, you just have to make that plunge, no matter what.

"Write a song about it, then." Sadie offered, starting to become distracted and clicking through websites.

"Trust me, I wrote the mother of all love songs the other night."

"You _did_?" Sadie instantly became focused. Ever since Jude and Tommy got together, Sadie had been a guinea pig for all songs Tommy related. She would tell Jude if one was just too ridiculous to sing in front of people, and she would tell her which ones were amazingly romantic, and which ones she shouldn't sing to anyone, _including_Tommy. Sadie was sort of thrown off when Jude first asked her to listen to one of her songs, but she was starting to like it. It kept her involved in Jude's music, as well as her relationship with Tommy, and it was finally shaping up to look like Sadie and Jude would have that close sister relationship she always wanted.

"I want to hear it!" Sadie became excited. Although her and Kwest's love life lacked no passion at all, sometimes it was nice to live vicariously through Jude's songs. And, she had been known to dedicate one or two to the love of _her_life. "Come on!" Sadie stood up, pulling Jude's arm.

"Wait, you want to hear it…now?" Jude asked incredulously.

"Yes! I do. So come on."

"Uhh…" Jude usually refrained from singing any of her 'Tommy' songs at work, for the sake of both her and everyone else's sanity. A lot of them were…intense, for lack of a better word, and she didn't want to permanently scar anyone. And there was always that little fact that some of them were not for Tommy's ears. Yet.

"Come on, Tommy's working with SME, you have nothing to do, I want to hear the song, Studio B is free, so come on!"

"Fine," Jude relented. "But it's a rough copy. The lyrics are a little too… I don't know. They're just not ready."

"Yeah, well, I'll be the judge of that," Sadie said as she led the way to Studio B. Jude could only roll her eyes at her sister.

_She listens to a dozen songs and thinks she's a songwriter_, she thought amusedly.

* * *

><p>She plopped down in the recording booth in Studio B and picked up an acoustic guitar. She spoke to Sadie through the microphone.<p>

"I'm not sure if I even like it with a guitar. It might be more piano-driven." Sadie didn't respond as she looked at the soundboard in front of her. "And don't touch anything!" Jude warned.

Sadie smiled benignly as she looked up. Jude had to admit that it was freakin' _weird_seeing Sadie behind the glass instead of Tommy, or even Kwest.

And while Sadie was obviously not a producer to any degree, she was a little grateful for all those hardcore flirting sessions she put in with Kwest towards the beginning of their relationship, pretending to want to know how everything worked. She wasn't an expert on the hundreds of buttons in front of her, but she was satisfied that she knew where the 'record' button was. She hit it surreptitiously and motioned for Jude to start.

"This is a rough cut, Sadie. So go easy with the criticism." Who would've guessed that Sadie would be harder on her that Tommy had ever been? Sadie just rolled her eyes and motioned for her to continue.

She started to strum lightly, and her voice had a very vulnerable sound to it when she started to sing, something Sadie wasn't accustomed to.

"_People ask if I'm in love with you,  
>'Cause I'm sitting here with your picture<br>And smiling to myself.  
>I'm kinda lost in my own thoughts of you<br>My heart speaks before my mind thinks through  
>And I blush as I say yes,<em>

What a feeling of vulnerability coming over me  
>And I'm feeling weak and I can't speak,<br>I can't think.  
>Never thought I'd give in so willingly to a human being<br>With abilities to set me free  
>Let me be me, makes me wanna say…<p>

Your lips, your eyes, your smile, your kiss,  
>I must admit, it's a part of me.<br>You please me, complete me, filling me  
>Like a melody.<br>Your soul, your flow, your youth  
>Your truth is simply proof<br>We were meant to be,  
>But the best quality that's hooking me,<br>Is that you're loving me for me.  
>Is that you're loving me for me.<p>

"

Jude almost stopped there because Sadie was staring at her with glossy wide eyes, her mouth shaped into an 'O.' She made a move to put her guitar down but Sadie held up her hand in protest, and nodded once she began to sing again.

"_Now, people ask why I'm in love with you  
>Well, let me start by saying you got my heart<br>By just being who you are.  
>And what we got is between me and you<br>Doesn't matter 'bout the money I make  
>Or what I do, or that I'm a…star.<em>"

Jude had to laugh through the last word as she could see Sadie snorting at her through the window. But she was becoming more confident in the song, and her voice showed that.

"_Unconditionally you're there for me  
>Undeniably, you inspire me, spiritually.<br>Oh, so sweet, ooh.  
>This is meaningful, it's incredible<br>Pleasurable, unforgettable  
>The way I feel – so surreal.<br>Makes me wanna say…_

_Your lips, your eyes, your smile, your kiss_  
><em>I must admit, it's a part of me<em>  
><em>You please me, complete me, filling me<em>  
><em>Like a melody.<em>  
><em>Your soul, your flow, your youth<em>  
><em>Your truth is simply proof<em>  
><em>We were meant to be.<em>  
><em>But the best quality that's hooking me,<em>  
><em>Is that you're loving me for me.<em>

_It's amazing how something so sweet_  
><em>Has come and rearranged my life<em>  
><em>I've been kissed my destiny,<em>  
><em>Oh, heaven came and saved me<em>  
><em>An angel was placed at my feet<em>  
><em>This isn't ordinary,<em>  
><em>He's loving me for me…"<em>

"Except, he's not, because he can't say those three stupid words." Jude spoke, strumming the guitar angrily.

Sadie, careful to not stop recording, stepped into the booth to join her sister.

"Jude," she spoke quietly. "Is it really that important to you that he says that?"

"No…yes…I don't know. I don't want to be that girl that gets all needy and forces her boyfriend into something he's not ready for." Sadie snorted. "What?"

"Oh, come on. Like you and him aren't entirely dependent on each other already."

"That's not the point. And, for your information, I'm well aware that I'm much more reliant on Tommy than he is on me."

"I wasn't even going to go there. Not right now, at least." Sadie smirked. "Look, Jude, all I'm saying is that you have to decide just how important those words are to you. If they're really, truly, honestly that important that you _need_ for him to say them, then maybe you're better off saying them first. Just to put it out there. Or even try talking about it with him." Jude opened her mouth to comment on how brilliant that idea was, when Sadie cut her off. "_But_, if you can handle waiting around for those three words that may – _or may not_– come, then you should enjoy what you have right now. But you can't just keep letting this eat away at you, especially when you're unsure of what you want to hear from him."

"I know," Jude said finally after mulling the words over. "You're right. I just have to make a decision and stick to it. I just…ugh. I love him so much, you know? And I want to be able to tell him that every night and have those butterflies in my stomach when I hear it back. I don't want to live my life writing song lyrics for him to sing just so I can hear an 'I love you.'"

"I know," Sadie said sympathetically.

"So," Jude said, trying to brighten the mood. "What'd you think of the song?"

"Sap-fest 2008," Sadie said nonchalantly as she stood up. "But it was good mush, if that helps," she teased lightly.

"Yeah, well, I think we should all take a moment to be glad I'm not singing angry songs all the time and making you listen to them."

"Yeah," Sadie laughed, "remind me to thank Tommy for not sucking these past 6 months."

The girls continued to laugh when the door to Studio B opened.

"Hey, girl." Tommy said, giving her a smile not quite reaching his eyes as Jude jumped off her stool. "Hey, Sadie." He nodded politely to her.

"Hey Tommy," Sadie smiled back as she watched Jude wrap her arms around him.

Spiederman, Kyle and Wally came barreling in right after Tommy, arms filled with McDonalds, laughing and talking amongst themselves.

"What are you guys recording?" Tommy asked, noting the red light on the soundboard, signifying the fact that it was taping something.

"Nothing," Sadie said quickly, moving over to the soundboard and switching it off and discreetly popping the CD out.

"Yeah," Jude said, her gaze not being drawn away from Tommy. "Just messing around, you know."

"Mmhmm," Tommy replied, giving Sadie a distinct 'what-are-you-doing' look. Sadie just shrugged and stood up.

"I better get back to work, Jude," Sadie said and bent down to give Jude a hug. "I'll catch you later, ok?"

"'K," Jude grinned in reply. It was nice to have a sister every now and then, especially one that was particularly experienced in the realm of men and relationship. Now more than ever, Jude was grateful for Sadie and her companionship.

As Sadie bowed out of the room and out from under Tommy's penetrating gaze, Jude turned her attention to SME.

"McDonalds?" She said hopefully.

Tommy snagged a bag closest to him and pulled out her food.

"Quarter pounder, fries, and...a diet coke." He said, shaking his head at her.

"What? The diet coke cancels out the calories from the burger," Jude said as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

"Whatever you say, girl," he said as he pressed a kiss to her head and pulled out a chair for her to sit on near the soundboard since SME had taken over the couches, and plopping down next to her and starting in on his chicken sandwich.

"You brought the guys with you to McDonalds?" Jude asked conversationally, knowing fully well that Tommy would never have done that voluntarily.

"Yeah," Tommy said darkly. "Like I really had a choice. So much for eating in my office."

"Hey," Spied said, his attention finally being drawn out of the everlasting 'pirate versus ninja' debate he had with Wally. "We offered to pick up your orders when we went there."

"I don't trust you guys to remember your own lyrics, let alone my food order," Tommy said patronizingly.

"Well, in that case, I don't feel bad about spilling ketchup in the backseat of your H2." Spied said defiantly, causing Tommy to sit up straight in his chair.

"I'm sorry, what did you say Spiederman?" Tommy said in a deathly quiet tone. Jude rolled her eyes at his protectiveness of his car.

"Nothing," Speed replied quickly, before smirking to the guys. "I'm just grateful we got ketchup at all." The guys nodded in agreement.

"Why wouldn't you have gotten ketchup?" Jude questioned.

"Dude ordered in French," Wally said, nodding to Tommy. Jude couldn't help the blush that spread over her face. The only time she heard Tommy speak French was in bed, and she hoped that wasn't what he was speaking to the poor person behind the McDonald's counter.

"You did?" Jude asked after reigning in her involuntarily response to the idea of Tommy speaking French. Tommy just shrugged.

"I went to school with the guy," he said nonchalantly as he continued to eat.

"What, elementary school? And he remembered you?"

"I'm pretty unforgettable, girl," Tommy said with a smirk. "And needless to say, seeing him at that job makes me feel pretty damn good about dropping out of school when I did."

Jude just rolled at her eyes at his comment and continued to eat.

"So," Kyle spoke up. "That was some press conference."

Jude felt her heart plummet to her stomach. With the distraction of food for two milliseconds, she allowed herself to forget about that embarrassing torture she just had to endure.

"Don't remind me," Tommy said, frustrated. "I _really_ don't want that song to go any more public than that one video. And Darius is practically jumping through hoops to get it on the album."

"I'm really sorry," Jude said for what had to be the hundredth time. Tommy shook his head.

"It's not your fault girl," Tommy said noncommittally.

"Well, if it helps, there's no one I'd rather sing that song with." Jude said with a big smile, trying to elevate Tommy's mood.

"It doesn't." Tommy said, concentrating on his food. Jude's face fell and she furrowed her brow. Taking that as a cue, the members of SME stood.

"Yeah, we're just going to…go." Speed said as they collected their bags. They could practically _smell_a Jude & Tommy fight brewing.

Once they were out the door, Jude put down her food and focused on Tommy.

"Listen, I'm sorry that the video came out and that Darius is making us do all this, and if I could change it, I would, but I can't, so the least you could do is pretend to _not_be miserable at the idea of recording a song with your girlfriend."

"Jude, what do you want me to say?" Tommy sighed. "I don't want to record this song, I don't want it on the album, and I don't want to turn on the TV at night to that damn video being played on every news station."

"Well what do you want _me_ to say, Tommy?" Jude got up and stood before him. "The fact is, is that there were _two_people in that video. Two. And aside from saying sorry – which I have, by the way, quite a few times – there's nothing else I can do about this situation. What, do you blame me for writing the song?" Jude joked. Tommy just shrugged and looked away.

"Oh my God!" Jude shrieked. "You do! You blame me for writing that stupid song. Well, we could play the blame game all day, Tommy. I could blame you for taking me to the concert, you could blame me for saying yes, it could go on _forever_. But what it comes down to," Jude lowered her voice and took a deep breath. "You want to be anywhere with me, Tommy." She gave him a disappointed look. "Just as long as it's not the Channel 5 News."

Jude whirled around and grabbed her tote purse and her journal.

"Jude-"

"No," Jude cut him off, not turning to face him, one hand on the doorknob. "Just…just figure out what you want Tommy, okay?"

Not waiting for a response, Jude opened the door and left him sitting there, head in his hands, McDonalds forgotten.

* * *

><p>"Well this got fucked up pretty quickly." Tommy said conversationally to Kwest as they sat in Studio C, mixing a song for SME.<p>

"Hey man," Kwest said, shaking his head, "I don't pretend to understand what you and Jude do or go through together."

"You think I'm right about this, right? That this all started with that one song?" Kwest sighed. Tommy had been asking the same question all night and he was doing a pretty good job avoiding hurting his feelings, but his patience was wearing thin.

"All I know is that if-" the pair looked up as the door opened, and a smile spread across Kwest's face as Sadie walked in. "All I know is that if _she_," Kwest opened his arms for Sadie to come sit in his lap, "wrote a song and we got caught singing it, I wouldn't be being such a drama queen about it."

Kwest kissed Sadie lightly as she perched in his lap, giving Tommy an indiscernible look.

"Are you still mad about the video?" Sadie asked.

"I'm not _mad_, I'm just frustrated." Tommy said, slightly defensive.

"What, you didn't want you and Jude to be an official couple?" Sadie was confused as to where Tommy's frustration was stemming from.

"No, that's not it, it's just the song…" he muttered, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Oh, come on, Tommy." Sadie rolled his eyes at the man. "It's a good song, and it's not like you hate singing that much. You'll probably never even have to perform it live, so suck it up. What are you _really_mad about?"

"Nothing! It's just that the video is _everywhere_, every time I go online, or turn on a TV, or do anything, it's like it's right there."

"What, is Little Tommy Q afraid of tarnishing his badboy rep with a video of him being all cute with his girlfriend?" Sadie joked. Tommy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Oh my God, you are!" Sadie squealed, echoing Jude's exact sentiments earlier. Sometimes it was eerie how alike the two were.

"No!" Tommy said quickly, cutting off what was sure to be a rant to rival Jude's earlier. If he had known that was coming then, he would've been quicker to interrupt. "That's not it at all. God, that's the part that gets me…I _love_the video." He said, more to himself than Sadie.

"You like the video." Sadie said skeptically, to which Tommy could only shrug helplessly and nod. "And you don't care that you might not look 100% badass in it." Another shrug and nod.

"_So_," Sadie said pensively, piecing it all together, "you like the video. You like the person you are in that video. And yet…" she thought for a moment. "You're scared because it's unfamiliar territory to you?" Not waiting for Tommy to comment, she took that idea and ran with it. "You've never felt the way you feel with Jude. And then you see the video, instead of just living it, and you realize that you want to feel like that forever. And that in itself is scary, especially because you haven't even said those three little words yet."

Tommy's head shot up at the last part.

"Okay, so maybe you're right about…a lot of that. Maybe I am scared of the way I feel with Jude just because I've never felt that way before." Sadie gave Kwest a satisfied smile, and he shook his head in amazement at his girlfriend and kissed her shoulder.

"_But_," Tommy continued, eager to prove Sadie wrong, "Jude knows I love her. That's not even an obstacle."

Both Sadie and Kwest let out a little chuckle at that, with Kwest shutting up at the death glare Tommy gave him.

"What?" Tommy asked through clenched teeth.

"Oh, I mean," Kwest shot a look at Tommy, "you know. C'mon Tommy…how is she going to know you love her if you don't say it?" He thought that was pretty basic relationship common knowledge.

"You're trying to tell me…" Tommy said slowly, trying to wrap his mind around the idea, "that Jude has _no_idea I love her since I haven't told her?" He tried to fight it, but a hint of the epic proportions of panic he was feeling ebbed into his voice towards the end. At his friends looks, the panic was starting to become full-fledged. "What happened to 'actions speak louder than words?'"

"Well, sometimes words speak _just loud enough_," Sadie said in a patronizing voice. She was satisfied for a second, until she felt guilty staring at Tommy's lost expression. "She knows, Tommy," she continued softly. "Or, at least, she thinks she does. But she's not sure of anything right now."

"How is that possible?" Tommy questioned.

"Well, I think the action of 'throwing a fit at the idea of singing with her' spoke pretty loud, too." Kwest piped up, and shut his mouth at yet another glare from Tommy.

"Here," Sadie spoke, digging through her purse, emerging with a CD. "Listen to this."

"So you _were_recording something!" Tommy said, happy to appease his conscience with that one.

"Yeah, well, not to Jude's knowledge we weren't. But this song is **good**. And, ooh, that little part at the end? Yup, that's me." Sadie said, smiling proudly.

"You…sang?" Tommy asked hesitantly.

"Well, no. But I spoke really well."

Kwest laughed at his girlfriend and popped open the CD tray.

"Let's hear it, then."

"_Go easy with the criticism,_" Jude's voice filtered out through the speakers.

"I wasn't too hard on her," Sadie said confidently. Then, the guitar came through and Jude's accompanying voice. The trio remained silent throughout the recording, Tommy's eyes glassy with unshed tears, and Sadie and Kwest enraptured in themselves for the time being.

"That was…" Tommy started as the last line enveloped him. He paused, thinking for a good word to describe what he just experienced, when Jude's angry voice came out again through the speakers.

"_Except, he's not, because he can't say those three stupid words._" Tommy's jaw dropped at that.

He listened intently as Sadie gave her little sister advice on how to handle the situation, and Tommy's mind was reeling when suddenly his heart started pounding in his ears as he heard Jude speak again.

_"I just…ugh. I love him so much, you know? And I want to be able to tell him that every night and have those butterflies in my stomach when I hear it back. I don't want to live my life writing song lyrics for him to sing just so I can hear an 'I love you.'"_

Tommy could hardly focus on the other trivial words that Sadie and Jude spoke.

_She loves me_, he thought weakly. _She loves me so much. And, oh god, she's so desperate to hear those words that she'd rather hear them in a song than not hear them at all. All because I can't grow a pair and say them. I had no idea she wanted to hear them that badly…_

His thoughts were interrupted by Sadie tapping something against his arm. The CD case. The song. Oh, God.

"Listen, Tommy, she didn't record that in hopes that you would listen and profess your undying love to her. In fact, she technically doesn't have any idea that it was recorded, so if you could leave that _teensy _weensy detail out of the next conversation you two have, that'd be great…"

"Yeah, sure Sadie," Tommy said distractedly. He was too busy trying to plan what he was going to do with Jude than to pay attention to anything else.

He continued to be distracted until Kwest nudged him in the shoulder. He looked up to see Sadie and Kwest standing and all the equipment turned off.

"C'mon man, we're calling it a night. And you're not going to find any answers in a dark studio, so…"

All of a sudden, Tommy's face brightened with an idea.

"Maybe, maybe not." He said mischievously to Kwest, before standing himself. "I'll lock up man, you head home. I got some things I need to do."

Kwest nodded as he slung his arm around Sadie to leave. He stopped before they were out the door before calling back, "Okay, but if I find a video of just _you_dancing around G Major in the dark, you're never gonna hear the end of it!"

Tommy just rolled his eyes before situating himself back in front of the soundboard, turning the equipment back on.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **All done! Here is the last installment of "I Know" - and in case I didn't mention it before (I know I didn't) the songs used were Saving Ferris' "I Know," Christina Aguilera's "Loving Me For Me," and ummmm my favorite, Joey McIntyre's "I Love You Came Too Late." Welcome to the early 2000's, everyone. Expect a new chapter of "Unready, Willing, & Able" in the next week! :)

* * *

><p><strong>I Know. Part 3<strong>

Tommy was frustrated. He had been sitting in that damn recording studio for hours, and had nothing but terrible songs to show for it. He had tried everything. Hard rock. Acoustic. Punk. Piano ballad. Jazz. But _nothing_ sounded right to Tommy.

He let out an angry yell and thumped his head down on the soundboard.

"You know how to write a song, Quincy," he told himself angrily.

"Write 'em? Sure. Sing 'em? Not so much," a voice piped up from behind him.

"What are you doing here, man?" Tommy said as he got up and embraced the figure in the doorway in a manly hug.

"Kwest called. Said that he knew you'd be here 'til the morning unless I offered my excellent singing expertise."

"Excellent singing expertise? Chaz, you know we were in the same band, right?"

"And while it sucked to an extent, we did make a dollar or two off our off-key voices, if I recall correctly," Chaz said with a smirk.

"So what do you suggest," Tommy shot back sarcastically. "I sing a two-bit pop song to proclaim my very serious, very _not two-bit_ feelings?"

"Uh, it worked for us back then."

All Tommy could do was roll his eyes at Chaz.

"Seriously, though," Chaz tried not to smile as his longtime friend tried to reign in the panic in his eyes. "All I got from Kwest is that you haven't told your girl that you love her, and that it might be too late. And that you're an asshole."

"Yup, sounds like Kwest," Tommy mused.

"So, who is this chick? She hot?"

"She's beautiful. She's Jude."

"Jude?" Chaz's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "For how long, man? You wouldn't let me go near her when I met her!"

"For good reason, too," Tommy defended. "You wouldn't have treated her right, man."

"I'm sorry what was that? You were in love with her back then? And you're a pansy for not doing anything about it? Oh, okay."

"Shove it," Tommy said, hitting Chaz not-so-lightly in the chest. "And six months. And let's hope for many more, which means I have to actually do something to get back in her good graces, which means you either help me or you get out."

"Tommy, my man, my bro! When have I ever let you down?"

A lifted eyebrow was his response.

"Ok, well, when have I let you down when it comes to making music?"

"Fair enough," Tommy conceded. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"When all else fails, go back to what you know." Chaz said with a cocky grin.

"What I know?" Tommy asked, confused. "What do I- Oh. Oh no. No, no, no. I don't do pop songs anymore. I don't do Boyz Attack anymore."

"You could if you tried," Chaz baited him with a sing-song voice.

"That's a bad idea. A **bad **idea. Besides, it's not like Jude liked the original Boyz Attack songs, so I should probably avoid that."

"Oh, come on. Jude would like anything that came out of your mouth. Pop song or no pop song, but I myself thing that would be a _little_ more courageous than singing a song with a guitar all alone in a studio."

"This is a bad idea," Tommy repeated, but Chaz could see his resolve weakening. If anything could get to Tommy, it's someone suggesting that he wasn't brave.

"Let me see your lyrics. _I_, unlike you, have embraced my boy band past. I have learned how to market it."

"You've learned how to turn other pre-teen wannabes into cookie cutter singers," Tommy interjected.

"That may be so. But, like you pointed out – _I still got it._"

He read over Tommy's lyrics and started humming something that was far too catchy for Tommy's liking.

"I'm calling the Boyz! And then we'll work this thing out."

"Wait, I thought we were just going to…you know. Pop-ify it. And then it'd be me singing. No you, no Boyz, no nobody. Juuuust me."

"Get out your bandana, Tommy Q. We're making a comeback."

* * *

><p>Two days later and Studio C was off limits to everybody and anybody, and the windows were blacked out to all that passed by.<p>

"D, what is going _on _in there?" Jude asked for the millionth time.

"It's a secret, Jude." Darius sighed for the millionth and one time.

"So who's in there?" She pressed.

"What part of 'secret' did you not understand? You'll find out when you find out. Now go get ready for the premiere."

Jude rolled her eyes at Darius and stalked off. It wasn't a 'premiere' per se, but it was her and Tommy's song being released to the major radio networks, and G Major was hosting a mini celebration. Just Jude's Toronto based fan club and the media were allowed in, and it wasn't really for anything special. The idea of performing the song live had been trampled on by Tommy before it had even had a chance to take off.

Instead, the remastered song with the full brass ensemble would be playing looped over the original video of Tommy and Jude.

Jude sighed as she pulled on a flowing summery white dress. She hadn't seen Tommy since their fight. She was terrified that he had taken her seriously, and thought about what he wanted, and realized it wasn't her. She had neither confirmation nor denial of this, because he seemed to be M.I.A. Her heart was breaking as every minute passed, and yet the lingering thought at the back of her mind persisted: _At least you never told him you loved him. It would only hurt that much more to not hear him say it back_.

She finished getting ready hastily and rushed downstairs, knowing that Tommy had to show up eventually – it was his premiere, too.

She did the standard meet and greet with her fan club, getting to know some of the members more personally and reveling in the fact that at least some people liked the idea of her and Tommy singing together. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on in G-Major, though. An entire wall had a curtain in front of it, and she kept hearing hushed voices behind it. She couldn't make out any in particular, but it did spike her curiosity.

She continued her mingling until the lights started to dim and go back on again, signaling the start of the premier video release.

She made her way to the front, near the curtains, and hung back, waiting for Darius to make an announcement. She didn't have to wait long.

Soon enough, Darius came to the front of the curtain, a spotlight shining brightly on him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to have you all here. As you know, Jude and her…_boyfriend_," Darius said the word slowly, as if he were trying it out, "have recorded a song together, entitled 'I Know.' You are all here to listen to the new, remastered version, complete with a full brass ensemble!"

Clapping echoed through G-Major, bringing a grin to both Darius and Jude's faces.

"Now, before we get into that, I have a very special treat for you. Probably more special than any of you anticipated before you got here."

Jude's heart dropped. Was she performing? Was she supposed to be doing something else? She was completely clueless as to the 'special treat,' and looked around the lobby frantically for Tommy. She didn't find him.

"Now as you know-" Darius continued but was cut off by voices coming from the curtain behind him.

"_Just put it on_!" An unfamiliar voice said in a stage whisper that was amplified throughout the label, as if he were holding a microphone.

"Dude," a voice that was distinctly Tommy's came through the speakers as well, "_I have limits!_"

Darius took two steps to the side and placed a very well positioned elbow backwards. An _Oof_! Was heard, but only silence remained.

Jude's eyes were wide. What was going on?

"As I was saying, you all know that Jude's..._boyfriend _is no other than Tommy Quincy, or Li'l Tommy Q, as you may know him."

This time it was a punch coming from behind the curtain that hit Darius in the shoulder, but D just smiled larger and took a few steps to the side.

"Now, Li'l Tommy Q," he took a few more steps, "has long since retired from Boyz Attack!, but what you are about to witness is the first of what I hope to be many-" suddenly Darius was hit with so many random limbs from behind the curtain that he stumbled a few steps forward.

"Okay, so maybe not many," he amended, "but the first brand new single to come from Boyz Attack! since their last studio album."

Jude's jaw was on the floor. _What is he doing?_

The curtains suddenly drew back and Jude was torn between laughing aloud or to stare completely dumbfounded.

She chose both, and a choked laugh came out of her open mouth.

In front of her sat all the members of Boyz Attack!, including Tommy, all dressed in jeans and tight white t-shirts. He winked at her and a hand involuntarily went over her mouth as she tried to conceal her slack jaw.

Then, cheesy, over-synthesized music started flowing out of the speakers, and the members stood off their stools and Jude had to let out a laugh at the sight of a white bandana still lying on Tommy's stool, untouched. Tommy did have limits.

Chaz stepped up, front and center, and spoke into his mike.

"Baby, listen to me. If I have the chance, I'd say those words. Come on, ooh…"

Jude would have normally made a comment on just how ridiculous this song was shaping up to be, and it was only 30 seconds into it, but she couldn't bring herself to. 'Those words,' Chaz had said. _Those _words.

_Oh, God. Sadie._ Jude instantly understood what was going on, and despite wanting to run far, far away, she stood planted in her spot as Chaz began to sing.

"_The bluest of blue – that's what her eyes are, that's what I am today. And if I had it all to do, all over again, I wouldn't have waited so long to say…_"

Tommy stepped up directly in front of Jude and looked into her eyes as he sang the saccharine sweet lyrics he knew would at least get her to smile, if nothing else.

"_I can't live without you_," he crooned. "_I don't want nobody else. Baby, listen very closely – I love you_."

The chorus started and Tommy backed up a few steps and regained his place with the band, never taking his eyes off Jude.

"_I couldn't lie  
>She couldn't wait<br>'I love you' came too late  
>I'd give my life<br>For yesterday  
>'I love you' came too late<em>."

Suddenly, Tommy slid on his knees to Jude, an over dramatic gesture as he began to sing again.

"_I should have seen the signs, paid more attention, but I pushed your love away_," He was trying not to smile, but it was hard when Jude was biting her lip so hard to keep the grin off of her face.

"_So if you find someone to give you what you needed, somebody else not afraid to say…_" Chaz sang his lines as Tommy shook his head at Jude, indicating that she didn't need to find anybody else. He hopped up to his feet and put a hand on Jude's face as he sang once more, this time putting all the typical boy band moves in it – hand over heart, pleading expressions, you name it.

"_I can't live without you, I don't want nobody else. Baby, listen very closely – I love you._"

The chorus started up again and Tommy fell back to the group, doing a few synchronized dance steps.

"_I couldn't lie  
>She couldn't wait<br>'I love you' came too late  
>I'd give my life<br>For yesterday  
>'I love you' came too late.<em>"

Tommy then walked purposefully to Jude, who was trying to stifle her giggles but seemed to be having a very hard time doing so.

"What are you doing?" She mouthed at him.

Instead of replying, he just sent her a smirk as he picked up her hand and pulled her in front of the crowd, proceeding to sing with all the boybander passion he had in him.

"_I can't live without you – don't want nobody else. My heart is in my hand, I took a good look at myself. If I had another chance, I'd shout it out to the world – I love you!_"

He then spun Jude out and back in, singing the chorus with the guys all along.

Despite Jude being used to being in front of crowds, she felt her face flush as Tommy sung to her in front of everyone. She wasn't embarrassed necessarily, but…overwhelmed. Definitely overwhelmed. She was trying to grasp what Tommy was doing, but she had a million different scenarios running through her head.

She questioned whether he was serious or not – after all, he was singing with a boy band. But then he seemed so sincere, even with the shaking of his ass. But the truth of the matter was, there he went, just singing lyrics to her. 'I love you' made for good songs, and it was easy to rhyme with to boot, so she wasn't even sure if she should take the song to heart.

The song ended after a fade out of the chorus, and Tommy pulled her to him tightly when he stopped singing and kissed her soundly on the mouth, with the audience cheering them on.

Tommy rested his forehead against hers as the clapping continued.

"Have you lost your mind?" Jude asked with a grin.

"I'm in love with you," Tommy said matter-of-factly.

"Oh." Jude surprise temporarily took away her ability to speak.

"This is where you say it back. Or, even better, you could sing it. I've got some boybanders you could borrow…"

"I've got all the boybander I need," Jude said with a smile blossoming across her face. "And I'm in love with him, too."

Tommy pulled her into a passionate kiss again.

"Good," he managed to get out when he pulled away, breathing heavily. "Because if I had just done that song for nothing-"

"Shut up, Quincy," Jude grinned as she pulled him in for another kiss.

"Give it up for Boyz Attack!" Darius said as he came back onto the stage. "And give it up for Tommy and Jude, who need to stop kissing on my stage before they both get fired!" D's fake-cheery voice caused both Jude and Tommy to smile sheepishly as they pulled away.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day passed in a blur. The premiere, the mingling, the stolen glances between Tommy and Jude, everything happened so quickly. Suddenly Tommy and Jude were alone, sitting in a corner of the couch in the lobby, silence enveloping them.<p>

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Jude said softly.

"I know," Tommy replied, squeezing her shoulders lightly. "But I've felt those words since the day I met you, Jude. I just needed a…push in the right direction."

"Sadie's more like a very hard shove, but I know what you mean," Jude said with a laugh.

"And – if you tell anyone I said this, I will kill you, Harrison, know that – it was…kind of fun."

"What was?" Jude asked.

"You know," Tommy gave a noncommittal shrug and Jude's jaw dropped.

"Singing? With the Boyz?"

"Death, Harrison. Remember that I threatened you with death."

Jude just brushed his comment off and smiled to herself, secretly glad that maybe Tommy didn't hate singing as much as he led her to believe.

"I'm sorry." Jude's voice rung out into the silent room.

"For what?"

"I sort of thrust all this on you. I just…I didn't mean to."

"I know that, girl. I was just a little scared."

"Of what? Little ol' me?"

"Falling in love with you is a scaaaary thing, Jude Harrison."

"Scary like free-falling-on-a-roller-coaster scary or axe-murderer-chasing-me scary?" Jude questioned hesitantly.

"Girl, every _day _with you is a roller coaster."

"Good!" Jude said, satisfied.

Silence again.

"100-foot-high-drop roller coaster or little-kiddie-two-second-long roller coaster?"

Tommy's groan could be heard throughout the corners of G-Major.


End file.
